Troy High School math teacher Andrea Becker pictured during 9ne of her class periods. Becker was recently accepted as a Desmos Classroom Fellow.
Submitted photo | Troy City Schools
TROY — Troy High School math teacher Andrea Becker has been accepted as a Desmos Classroom Fellow.
To be accepted into the prestigious Desmos Classroom Fellow program, Becker had to go through a competitive application process in which very few teachers were selected, said a Troy City Schools’ press release.
“Desmos is a company created by math teachers with the goal of helping everyone learn math, love math and grow with math,” Becker said in the release. “They offer a free online graphing calculator as well as free digital classroom activities that are thoughtfully designed by teachers for teachers. The company’s goal is to help students explore concepts deeply, collaborate with their peers on problem-solving, and apply knowledge creatively as mathematicians.
“The math teachers at Troy have fully embraced Desmos as part of our daily learning routines as their company values are reflected in Troy’s educational philosophy. Parents will see our students using the Desmos calculator or completing Desmos Classroom activities created by our math department staff members on a regular basis,” she said.
Becker will participate in the Desmos Experience this summer in Chicago, where she’ll work with other selected teachers from across the country.
According to the Desmos website, “The Desmos fellowship invites a diverse and talented group of educators to help shape our understanding of ‘every student’ and their needs.
“We started the Desmos fellowship to invite a diverse and talented group of educators to join us in conversation and help shape our understanding of ‘every student in the classroom’ and their needs,” the website said.
“Every year, Desmos selects a cohort of math teachers from all across North America to take part in a Desmos Fellowships,” Becker said. “To be invited to the fellowship is to be invited into community with other math teacher Desmos enthusiasts. In the world of math teachers, it is a highly coveted invitation; this year there were 270 applicants and only 25 teachers were selected. Fellows are part of a professional learning community that provides the opportunity to learn in depth tricks of the trade that they can then take back to their classrooms to help their students learn.”
